Logan Quinn was trying to kill me. My Spartan classmate relentlessly pursued me, swinging his sword at me over and over again, the shining silver blade inching closer to my throat every time. A smile tugged up his lips, and his ice-blue eyes practically glowed with the thrill of battle . . . I'm Gwen Frost, a second-year warrior-in-training at Mythos Academy, and I have no idea how I'm going to survive the rest of the semester. One day, I'm getting schooled in swordplay by the guy who broke my heart--the drop-dead gorgeous Logan who slays me every time. Then, an invisible archer in the Library of Antiquities decides to use me for target practice. And now, I find out that someone at the academy is really a Reaper bad guy who wants me dead. I'm afraid if I don't learn how to live by the sword--with Logan's help--I just might die by the sword . . . Praise for Touch of Frost 'An intriguing start to an exciting new series!' Award-winning author Jeri Smith-Ready

The first book in the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep was a fantastic mix of the Percy Jackson series meets Veronica Mars. A magical school full of warrior teens like Spartans, Valkyries, and Vikings, and then Gwen, the very not warrior-like gypsy girl who relied on wit and her own unique Touch magic to sleuth out secrets and make a buck or two in the process. While the still cool as ever more mature Percy Jackson elements were present in KISS OF FROST, the Veronica Mars comparisons are significantly less evident.

What I loved so much about Gwen in TOUCH OF FROST was that even through she’d been dealt a bum lot, she never once complained about her life. She observed the spoiled and self-absorbed teens around her with a kind of detached apathy, even when they went out of their way to taunt—or worse—her. In KISS OF FROST, Gwen succumbed one too many times to moments of self-pity for my taste. I still think Gwen is a great heroine, but I wished she’d stayed as emotionally strong as in the previous book.

I also had some issues with the plot. From the first chapter, it was painfully obvious what Oliver’s big secret was…but Gwen was uncharacteristically clueless for most of the book. She is smarter than that. I know she is. Ditto for the motives behind another character’s actions. It was immediately clear what was going on, again to everyone but Gwen. It unfortunately sapped quite a bit of the fun out of the book for me. I still loved the romance and the worldbuilding, and Estep has a great ear for dialogue, but I’ll be hoping for more when the next Mythos Academy book, DARK FROST, releases on May 29th 2012.

Rachel – This is a super fun series…and if you love the covers, don't miss next weeks Cover Art Coverage post for the DARK FROST cover reveal 🙂

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